Monday, March 20, 2006

The Eyes Have It

It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Many traditional cultures and certain religions (Islam and Greek Orthodox) have stories regarding the power to influence people via eye-to-eye contact. Sokaku Takeda, an early twentieth century Daito-ryu jiu-jitsu master said, "The secret...is to overpower the opponent mentally at a glance and to win without fighting (italics mine)." Rasputin, Charles Manson, and others intuitively knew of the power of the "evil eye".

Set your gaze wide said Musashi concerning combat. Looking directly into the eyes of your opponent during a fight will naturally draw your attention away from whatever weapons are being wielded. Prizefighters in particular are infamous for their stare down with one another at center ring prior to their bouts. Observe an ordinary housecat about to pounce on its prey (whether it's a mouse or a string doesn't really matter) to witness the intensity of this primordial stare. (Realize that the tiger and the leopard have been the inspiration for various styles of Chinese chuan fa.) Of course, there are limitations to its use. Being able to "psych out" your adversary with an icy look might prove highly effective with some; others could find it merely innocuous, or worse, inflammatory.

I agree.. the eyes control the strike too. So if you are looking away from the direction of your target, you will find that you will have hardly any power to your technique. However, you don't want to look directly at the target.. so "set your eyes wide" just fits the whole feeling of it all.